Give 'em a break: Brewers limp out of the first half losers of three straight, six of eight
SAN FRANCISCO – The first half is finally in the books for the Milwaukee Brewers.
And boy, do they need the break.
Aaron Ashby and Jason Alexander were tagged for a combined seven runs in the first three innings and it was largely academic the rest of the way as the Brewers fell to the San Francisco Giants, 9-5, at Oracle Park on Sunday afternoon.
It was the third straight loss in the series, with each one uniquely uglier than the next.
On Friday, there was Josh Hader's ninth-inning meltdown followed by Jandel Gustave's bases-loaded, game-deciding balk Saturday.
BOX SCORE: Giants 9, Brewers 5
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Then there was this one, ugly and out of hand almost from the start with poor pitching, hitting and defense all playing a part.
As a result, Milwaukee heads into the break having lost six of its last eight games but with a 50-43 record and with a half-game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals in the Central Division standings.
"Unfortunately, a couple games didn't go our way that were winnable here," said manager Craig Counsell. "That stings a little bit going into the break.
"But it's time to recharge and get ready for a fun second half."
Willy Adames homered off Logan Webb two batters into the game but it was tough sledding for a while after that as Milwaukee hit into double plays in both the second and third innings to blunt any chance of tacking onto its run total.
Not that it would have mattered much, anyway.
San Francisco tied it three batters into the first on Wilmer Flores' sacrifice fly off Ashby, took a 2-1 lead in the second on a broken-bat single off Alexander and then broke the game wide open in the third.
Alexander, taking over after Ashby (2-7) threw 22 pitches, surrendered two singles and a double to start as the Giants made it 4-1. Then LaMonte Wade Jr. applied the finishing touches with a three-run homer into McCovey Cove.
"That was the plan, to just face six or seven hitters," Counsell said of Ashby's short start. He threw 101 pitches in his last start at Minnesota, and was working on just three days' rest.
Brandon Belt added a two-run homer off Alexander in the sixth to stretch the deficit to 9-1.
The right-hander, who was so good early in his stint with the Brewers as an injury fill-in, gave up eight hits, seven runs (earned) and two walks with five strikeouts.
His earned run average up to 5.60 and with outfielder Tyrone Taylor (concussion) poised to rejoin the team to start the second half after a brief minor-league rehab stint, Alexander was optioned to Class AAA Nashville after the game.
The Brewers chipped away at it after Webb departed with a two-run double by Hunter Renfroe in the seventh and a two-run homer by Rowdy Tellez in the eighth making it a 9-5 game, but couldn't draw any closer.
"Kind of like (Alex) Cobb (on Saturday), he kept the ball on the ground and we hit it at their infielders," said Counsell. "That's what he's good at."
Connor Sadzeck made his Milwaukee debut by throwing scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth.
Milwaukee begins the second half Friday with a four-game series against the Colorado Rockies at American Family Field with all-star Corbin Burnes making the start.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers reach all-star break with third straight loss to Giants
